Flash BIOS update (DOS package) v1.08 - IBM BladeCenter LS21 and LS41

Download Description

• New IBM xSeries firmware and device driver file naming convention
• New firmware update file formats
• Extracting and using .iso image files to create a CD-ROM disc

Change history

Version 1.08 - BuildID: BAE149AUS

Problem(s) Fixed:

• disable "Relaxed ordering" bit in bios. Fix implemented per Broadcom HT2000 Errata. The errata was observed at IBM test lab with a Broadcom 5709 adapter, but the issue would not be limited to that adapter. The probability of occurrence in the field is low, but IBM strongly recommends updating to this code as quickly as possible to prevent any data issues from occurring.

Version 1.08 - BuildID: BAE147AUS

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Disable both "Relaxed ordering" and "ECRC Generation" in bios.
  • Reason
    • Fix implemented per Broadcom HT2100 PCIe Relaxed ordering erratum and ECRC packet handling erratum. The erratum was observed at IBM test lab with a Broadcom 5709 adapter, but the issue would not be limited to that adapter. The probability of occurrence in the field is low, but IBM strongly recommends updating to this code as quickly as possible to prevent any data issues from occurring.

Version 1.07 - BuildID: BAE146AUS

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed the corrupted part of ServerGuide information in CMOS
• Supported CFFh (Qlogic and Broadcom) combo card running on Solaris 10

Enhancements:

• Updated iSCSI Option ROM to level 38A
• Updated change history file (Chghis.txt)

Version 1.06 - BuildID: BAE145AUS

Problem(s) Fixed:

• System timer of Window 2008 X64 runs correctly.
• Keep all LED's lit on a reboot for PCI-X error's.
• Support Windows 2008 with setup200.exe tool

Enhancements:

• An enhancement prevented system hang in case AP needs extra time during its initailizaiton. BMC code fixed their IRQ table handling which caused an extra time for AP init. That extra AP init time and IRQ hangling would cause system hang, and/or processor speed mismatched.
• iSCSI ROM updated to 37A
• iSCSI enhancements during the Ghosting process.

Version 1.05 - BuildID: BAE142AUS

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed typos in Readme file. Some of the sub-paragraph numbers in the readme file were wrong and have been corrected.
• Fixed fault LED to clear after a memory error has been corrected. Previously, the fault LED had to be cleared via the MM console after a memory error was corrected. Now the fault LED is cleared after the memory error has been corrected.
• Fixed boot issue with Santa Rosa processors. Prior to this, when booting with Santa Rosa processors, the system would occasionally hang. The system will now boot reliably with Santa Rosa processors.
• Fixed reporting a CPU mismatch error in the MM's System Status. The status would show green and report healthy in spite of a CPU mismatch being detected. The status now shows red and reports "Invalid CPU
  Configuration" if a CPU mismatch is detected.
• Changed "Power Executive Capping Support" to "Active Energy Manager Capping Support". This is a name change only, the functionality has not been changed.
• Added an IPMI object for the BMC. Previously, the Microsoft IPMI tests would fail because this object did not exist.
• Fixed reporting of user disabled PCI devices on Multi-Processor Expansion (MPE) option. Previously, if the user disabled a PCI device on the MPE and disabled reporting disabled PCI devices, the disabled device on the MPE would be reported. Disabled devices on an MPE are now not reported if reporting disabled PCI devices is disabled.
• Fix for missing DIMM LEDs with mismatched DIMMs. Previously, if mismatched DIMMs were detected, the corresponding LEDs on the system board were not turned on. The LEDs for mismatched DIMMs are now turned on
• Fix for using Advanced Setup Utility (ASU) set command to change the boot order. Previously, the new boot order was not stored. Now the boot order is stored and used.
• Fixed a Wake On LAN (WOL) issue with PCI Expansion Unit (PEU). When the WOL cable was connected to the PEU, the blade failed to follow WOL boot order if awakened via the LAN. The blade will now follow the WOL boot order in this case.
• Fixed loading a remote OS with an iSCSI daughter card on the Multi- Processor Expansion (MPE) option. Previously, if the boot LUN was mapped to a card on the MPE the OS would fail to load. The OS can now be loaded through an iSCSI daughter card on the MPE.
• Fixed fault LED display for a memory mismatch. Previously, when a memory mismatch was detected the chassis fault LED and the blade's fault LED were not turned on. Both fault LEDs are now turned on if mismatched DIMMs are detected.
• Changed processor dependencies mapping to support use of _PSD ACPI object with Windows Server 2008. This ensures that all of the cores on a physical processor package will be mapped to the same domain.
• Made Subsystem ID and Subsystem Vendor ID of the PCI Express to PCI-X bridge persistent across boot. Previously these IDs would after a reboot which can cause Windows Server 2008 to detect previously installed devices as new devices and reinstall them.
• Upgraded SMBIOS support to version 2.4 to support Logo tests for Windows Server 2008.
• Corrected memory size display in System Summary to display memory as large as 64 Gb.
• Corrected PXE boot failure observed on the secondary NIC. Some RDM environments fail if the NIC uses IRQ7. BIOS no longer will assign IRQ7 to PCI devices.
• Fix for keyboard emulation not handling a 0FFh command properly. This problem appears as a keyboard lockup prior to booting an operating system. This was observed using a WinPE boot CD that used a boot menu. The keyboard would not function on the menu.
• Fix for ASU when changing the value of CMOS_SAS_ANNEX_ENABLE. This option is displayed in F1 Setup as "BSE3 Controls all HDDs". Previously, changing the value, via ASU, would result in POST failing to complete. This lead to a 3 boot failure, and default settings being loaded.

Enhancements:

• Added support for BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager (BOFM). IMPORTANT NOTE: BOFM requires updates to BIOS, BMC, and AMM code in order to function properly. If any of these items are not at a firmware level that supports BOFM, that may result in error messages, or in a system configuration that reports BOFM support but does not function properly.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE: BOFM support impacts iSCSI. Selection of iSCSI targets by index is no longer available. If this BIOS update is applied to a system with an existing iSCSI configuration, errors may result until the iSCSI targets are reconfigured using an updated iSCSI Configuration Manager (ICM).
• Added iSCSI Boot Firmware Table (IBFT) to ACPI tables.
• Added initial support for Real Time Linux (RTL).

Version 1.04 - BuildID: BAE126AUS

Enhancements:

• Added support for PowerExec
• Updated available settings for ASU. Added CMOS_SAS_ANNEX_ENABLE, CMOS_HPET_PLANAR_ENABLE, CMOS_NV_NodeIntlv, CMOS_NV_ChipKill, CMOS_MMIOHoleRounding, CMOS_BMCPwrExec, CMOS_ProcPerformanceStates, CMOS_LowPowerHaltState.

Version 1.03 - BuildID: BAE125BUS

Problem(s) Fixed:

• New Video BIOS to correct remote video that was off center. This also corrects for "wiggling/wavering" video experienced by some customers using SUSE Linux.
• Added workaround for Opteron errata 150.
• Added workaround for Opteron errata 182. This corrects the maximum asynchronous latency value from the processor to system memory.
• Corrected the System MAC Addresses menu in F1 setup to only display MAC addresses if a PXE ROM has been executed for the network device. MAC addresses are only available via PXE functions. Previously the menu would display all Zeros as the MAC address of a device that had not executed a PXE ROM.
• Fixed behavior of the DIMM LEDs. When DIMMs are replaced and enabled in F1 Setup, the corresponding DIMM LEDs will now turn off.
• Updated F1 Setup, DMI/SMBIOS, POST Messages to report processors as "Board # : Package #" instead of as "Processor #".
• Ethernets on the MPE could not be disabled via F1 Setup. Previously doing this would cause the system to generate a '3 Boot Failure' and the ethernets would be enabled.
• The "Current Interrupt Assigned" field on the "PCI Interrupt Routing" menu displayed incorrect values.

Enhancements:

• Adjustments to Blade Power Values for Fuel Gauge Inventory.
• Video BIOS is about 2KB smaller.

Version 1.02 - BuildID: BAE123AUS

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Corrected a spelling mistake within the Flash Utility.
• Updated URL information within the readme.txt.
• Fix for running out of MMIO space. In previous BIOS, if installed hardware requested more than 1.5GB of MMIO space, the system could end up in a cycle of continuous reboots due to resource conflicts.
• Fix for SMBIOS reporting 4GB dimms as 2GB dimms.
• Updated the SMI handler to properly support SVM.

Version 1.01 - BuildID: BAE122DUS

Problem(s) Fixed:

• New Video BIOS to correct remote control install with Windows 2003, loses video during the install process after Hardware detect. The local video still works.
• LFlash writes incorrect Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) to the Vital Product Data (VPD) area during the flash process.
• Fixed issue with Advance Configuration and Power Interface(ACPI) structures that confused Windows to not route interrupts correctly for some future High Speed Daughter Cards.
• Fixed SMBIOS issue where system type for LS41 was reported as LS21.
• Fixed PCI Device Boot Priority option. Now allow choice of all possible options. (See dependencies)
• Fixed the IRQ routing when a High Speed Daughter Cards are installed.

Enhancements:

• Adjustments to Blade Power Values for Fuel Gauge Inventory.
• New CMOS Def file support.
• Support for additional CPUs. (CPUID == F13)
• Added iSCSI support.
• Changed PCI Express Maximum Read Request size to 4096 to increase the performance of the PCI Express bus.
• Added I/O Memory Map Unit (IOMMU) menu option. This option is enabled by default and enables the Graphics Aperture Relocation Table (GART) which some Linux distributions require.

Dependencies:

• If the PCI Device Boot Priority was previously modified from the default of Planar SAS, this option will need to be updated after upgrading to this level of POST/BIOS.

Version 1.00 - BuildID: BAE118AUS

• Initial Release